On Monday, all three network morning shows parroted Donald Trump’s campaign talking points by dismissing Ted Cruz and John Kasich teaming up to stop the GOP frontrunner as an act of “desperation” that came “too little, too late.”
Appearing on NBC’s Today, Bloomberg Politics managing editor Mark Halperin proclaimed: “Donald Trump, to be stopped, they need to do something different....This is different, but it’s also desperate, and it’s a reflection of just how strong a position Trump is in.”
Co-host Savannah Guthrie asked political analyst Nicolle Wallace: “Too little, too late?” Wallace agreed without hesitation: “Yes. Trump road into his New York mega-victory on a message of a rigged system. Nothing reinforces it more than the collusion of his last two opponents.” Fill-in co-host Willie Geist pointed how much their discussion matched Trump’s own words: “And he’s jumped on that and tweeted about it. Just as you said, ‘desperation,’ ‘sad!’”
On ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host George Stephanopoulos put the identical question to political analyst Matthew Dowd: “So is this too little, too late?” Dowd declared: “I think it is too little, too late. I think it’s some bizarre show of Survivor that we're seeing in the course of this. The last time an alliance was formed like this was when Batman and Lex Luthor got together to try to beat Superman.”
Like Wallace, Dowd concluded: “I think this totally feeds the narrative that Donald Trump’s been saying, that the system’s rigged, ‘I’m against the system.’ And when they do this, it’s only going to bolster Donald Trump.”
Correspondent Jon Karl chimed in: “Yeah, there’s an increasing sense of desperation in the Cruz campaign, they have to change the trajectory.”
On CBS This Morning, correspondent Major Garrett led off a report on the topic with the favorite phrase: “This unprecedented alliance comes in advance of what is expected to be a five-state primary sweep by Trump on Tuesday, which means it may be too little, too late.”
He touted how the move “adds fodder to Trump's accusations that Cruz is using underhanded tactics to sway delegates ahead of a possible contested convention.”
Near the end of the segment, co-host Gayle King wondered: “Have you ever seen anything like that, and do you think it could backfire?” Garrett replied:
Well, no, I haven't seen anything like it. It could backfire, but there's no chance for – or no time for Kasich or Cruz to worry about the backfire aspect on this. They have got to consolidate the anti-Trump vote and any anti-Trump super-PAC money that may come along with that strategy and do it now. They have to gain the attention of those Republicans who are still on the fence about Trump and this is the best way to do it, both strategically and in the media. So this strategy is high risk in every respect, it is unprecedented in every respect, but it's really the last option that Cruz or Kasich or anti-Trump forces of any kind have left.
Here are excerpts of the coverage on NBC and ABC:
Today
7:05 AM ETSAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Mark Halperin is managing editor of Bloomberg Politics and Nicolle Wallace is an NBC political analyst. Guys, good morning.
MARK HALPERIN: Good morning.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Good morning.
GUTHRIE: Something to chew over this Monday morning. Quick reaction, what do you think about this Cruz/Kasich alliance?
HALPERIN: Donald Trump, to be stopped, they need to do something different. I've been surprised at how little different Cruz and Kasich have done. Insanity, doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. This is different, but it’s also desperate, and it’s a reflection of just how strong a position Trump is in.
GUTHRIE: Too little, too late?
WALLACE: Yes. Trump road into his New York mega-victory on a message of a rigged system. Nothing reinforces it more than the collusion of his last two opponents.
WILLIE GEIST: And he’s jumped on that and tweeted about it. Just as you said, “desperation,” “sad!” You know he’s serious when writes that. Who are these campaigns talking to? Are they telling voters, “Go vote for the other guy,” or are they really talking to third-party groups and money and saying “Unleash hell on Trump”?
HALPERIN: I think it’s more the latter, every dollar that is spent attacking each other by these outside groups – you were having major dollars spent in Indiana attacking Kasich on behalf of Cruz. They must try to take all the resources – like they did in Wisconsin, where Cruz did beat Trump – and say every dollar we have to stop Donald Trump has to be spent against Trump rather than against each other. But again, it's such a process argument, as Nicolle said, plays right into Trump's message that this is about colluding and about stopping Trump, as opposed to a positive message.
(...)
GMA
7:09 AM ETGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We're joined here by Matthew Dowd as well. And let's start out with this Kasich/Cruz, this alliance overnight. A lot of top Republicans like Mitt Romney have been calling for this for several weeks ago. So is this too little, too late?
MATTHEW DOWD: I think it is too little, too late. I think it’s some bizarre show of Survivor that we're seeing in the course of this. The last time an alliance was formed like this was when Batman and Lex Luthor got together to try to beat Superman.
JON KARL: It almost worked!
DOWD: And the only thing that helped was Superman in the course of that. I think this totally feeds the narrative that Donald Trump’s been saying, that the system’s rigged, “I’m against the system.” And when they do this, it’s only going to bolster Donald Trump.
STEPHANOPOULOS: At the same time, Jon, now Ted Cruz pointing towards Indiana, which is next Tuesday, and he may have one more move up his sleeve.
KARL: Yeah, there’s an increasing sense of desperation in the Cruz campaign, they have to change the trajectory. I would not be surprised to see him name a running mate even before the Indiana primary next week to try to get an extra boost. Basically a running mate that would help him through the rest of the primaries.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And that would be something that helped Ronald Reagan back in 1976, got him close.
KARL: And if there’s one person I would put on that list, and maybe only one person, it’s Carly Fiorina.
STEPHANOPOULOS: She's been campaigning with him already.
(...)
